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Thursday, 31 October 2019

Someone once asked me about what training I've done. So, here are some examples of the main Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training and events I've attended or delivered, books I've read or videos I've watched since 2014.November 2019

Ran a facilitated discussion on "Plus One" at the Bracknell Hoarding Support Group

Mentioned in the acknowledgement section of "Understanding Hoarding" - a new book by Jo Cooke of Hoarding Disorders UK CIC. I contributed various bits and pieces to the book, including a diagram of the ADHD Brain in the context of clutter, disorganisation and hoarding.

Read "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying: A simple, effective way to banish clutter forever" by Marie Kondo. My verdict? Take from it what you think might work for you. It's unlikely to make much of an immediate difference to people who exhibit hoarding behaviours or suffer with mental health problems.

Ran a workshop on "How to ask for help if clutter or disorganisation affects your health" at the annual conference of The Association of Professional Declutterers & Organisers - APDO Conference, London

What I don't remember being mentioned in
the programme was that Shappi was diagnosed with Dyspraxia whilst at
university, and then a few years ago she was diagnosed with Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) – another neurological condition which creates
problems with Executive Functioning – which is why Shappi (and countless others
like her) experience difficulties with things like planning, organising,
decision-making, multi-tasking, time management, and even regulating their emotions.

“I do not know where my keys are. I only pay bills once the red
ones arrive, and I have zoned out 20 times while writing this. And this is me
on a good day. I cope (or, rather, don’t) by mentally flagellating myself,
drinking at least six cups of coffee a day to improve my focus, and using six
different calendars to keep track of my life”.

“Until
18 months ago I assumed that these were all personal shortcomings on my part.
I’m lazy, perhaps, or just stupid. Maybe I’m just inherently slothful. Or maybe
they’re symptoms of the depression and anxiety that have dogged me my whole life.It didn’t occur to me that they might be
symptoms of a medical issue until I read an article by Maria Yagoda in The Atlantic. As soon as I finished reading
it, I cried for two hours straight. Then I called my GP for a referral”.

Robyn went on to say “I do wish I had been diagnosed as a child. It
might have stopped me internalising and then beating myself with my teachers’
labels. It might have provided a counterpoint to the awful, critical inner
voice that told me I was ridiculous and a time-waster, because I just generally
can’t cope with life the way other people seem to".

The fact is, the issue
of non-diagnosis of this potentially debilitating condition doesn’t just affect
adults.An international study published
in 2018 in The
Lancet warned that ADHD in children is going wildly under-diagnosed and
under-treated in the UK. After reviewing data from 24,000 patients, 14,000 of
whom were children, researchers found that while five per cent of children in
the UK have ADHD, only one in 10 are actually treated.

So, if that’s the case as
we approach the third decade of the 21st century, it’s difficult to imagine
how many adults with symptoms of ADHD are still undiagnosed – and have suffered
mental anguish, bullying, abuse and frustrations with organising their lives as
a result.

As
someone who works with people with issues related to Executive Dysfunction on a
daily basis, and is about to become a Trustee of the Fastminds Adult ADHD SupportGroupin Kingston-upon-Thames, it seems to me that there’s not nearly enough support for individuals
and families affected by ADHD and other neurological conditions.

Many of the true stories
that we hear at the support group are absolutely heart-breaking – they would barely
be believed if you read about them in a book or watched the movie of their
lives.

Some people are so desperate for help and support that they travel miles to attend our Support Group meetings - we had someone recently who drove all the way from Kent *a round trip of over 100 miles) because they said ours was their nearest adult ADHD support group!

How different their
lives might be if only:

They’d been able to get
an earlier diagnosis, and appropriate medication (instead of sometimes
self-medicating with food, drink, drugs, stuff – resulting in hoarding behaviours,
eviction and even homelessness)

They didn’t have to wait
months and months (sometimes years) for an assessment

They hadn't been mis-diagnosed with mental health disorders instead of neurological ones.

Presumably this is because the ADHD diagnosis section of the NHS website states "If your problems are recent and did not occur regularly in the past, you're not considered to have ADHD. This is because it's currently thought that ADHD cannot develop for the first time in adults".

“The System” (healthcare
and benefits) understood the extreme difficulties experienced by people with
Executive Dysfunction, and stopped withdrawing benefits at the push of a button
(making them jump through hoops to appeal, thereby creating more mental anguish
and health problems) and making reasonable adjustments for them (which is what
is required for employees in a workplace).

So, as it's ADHD Awareness Month, I would ask everyone who has been kind enough to read this blog to please share it with your contacts, and spread the word about the urgent need for far more training for GPs about Executive Dysfunction, ADHD and related neurological conditions - and how if misdiagnosed or undiagnosed they can lead to mental health problems.

Fingers crossed as a result, someone from "The System" (NHS, DWP, etc) will take note, sooner rather than later - and improvements will happen. Diagnoses will be made. Medications will be prescribed. Lives will be changed.

Thank you in advance for helping transform the lives of people who haven't chosen to be neurodiverse - they just happen to be blessed to be that way.

Thursday, 10 October 2019

We're proud to say that today (which happens to be #MentalHealthAwarenessDay) we not only helped someone understand a bit more about #ADHD - which is nice, as it's #ADHDAwarenessMonth - we also helped them understand about how Executive Dysfunction doesn't just affect people with mental illness.

By the end of our conversation, they decided they will definitely ask their GP for a referral for an ADHD assessment - when previously another GP had apparently told them:

(a) the NHS doesn't recognise this condition in adults - it most certainly does - and

(b) they should perhaps get a referral for a mental health assessment instead.Today we also helped someone else write a letter to appeal against their PIP benefits being stopped. They clearly experience extreme difficulties with Executive Functioning, and will be incapable of functioning "normally" until the root cause of their extreme anxiety and ill health (probably ADHD and Autism) is diagnosed and treated.Is it any wonder that people end up frustrated and with mental health problems when they have to contend with a system which doesn't fully understand that there are conditions other than mental ill health that can result in Executive Dysfunction - conditions that prevent someone from being able to function "normally" and conform to social norms, like being able to hold down jobs or relationships.

Wake up NHS England and NHS Improvement - these are not isolated cases!

And if Executive Dysfunction is causing you to have problems with clutter, disorganisation or hoarding which is affecting your health, then try using the Hoarding Ice-Breaker Form to start a conversation with your GP. - www.hoardingicebreakerform.org

About Rainbow Red

Latest news and views from Rainbow Red - a Professional Decluttering, Organising, Project Management & Professional Hoarding Practitioner business based in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, UK.

Our founder - Cherry Rudge - is the daughter of a hoarder, and has a passion for improving the safety & wellbeing of her clients, and reducing organisational stress in people's lives.

Which is why she created the Hoarding Ice-Breaker form, so that people whose health has been affected by the chaos in their homes can start a conversation with a GP or medical professional, without feeling embarrassed about it.